


Once on a Dog Day Afternoon

by SoloShikigami



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Dogs, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, M/M, Swapfell Sans (Undertale)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-25
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-15 20:21:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29689443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoloShikigami/pseuds/SoloShikigami
Summary: Sans thinks they should get a dog. Razz isn't sure, as he had to lose pets in the past. Sans assures him that the time is right, and Razz learns he is correct, as there is a special pup who needs their help.
Relationships: Sans/Sans (Undertale)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 32





	Once on a Dog Day Afternoon

**Author's Note:**

> A fic written for Yastaghar! Thank you so much!

"I think we should get a dog."

Razz looked up from his history textbook. Classic was on the other side of the room, laying on his front and flipping through either a science book, or a joke book, or both - Razz could never quite be sure - but now he was looking up at his partner.

Razz cleared his throat, leaned back into his armchair more and adjusted the book on his lap.

Classic could tell that Razz wasn't too keen on the subject by this little fidgeting ritual.

"Why do you think we should get a dog?" Razz asked when he settled.

"I think it would be good for us. I kinda miss having the Canine Crew around, I think it'll be a good for you to have a companion when I'm at work, and the pup can protect you."

"I don't need protecting, thank you," Razz said with a sniff. "And I have plenty to keep me busy around here, not to mention school, going to check on our brothers, and besides, we're only renting this house. It's a bit small for us to be adding a dog, don't you think?"

"First off, Pap and Slim are adults, Razz, they can take care of themselves. Two, we're going to be moving to a bigger place soon, and three, even with school and everything you still get bored and I can tell - you rearranged the Tupperware by color and size three times in the past week."

Razz sighed and set his book on the floor. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and clasping his hands together. Classic sat up and crossed his legs to show that he was willing to be serious and have a serious conversation. Because otherwise, it would be filled with puns and jokes that would drive Razz to the brink of insanity.

"Have you ever taken care of a dog before?" Razz asked.

"Not really," Classic said with a shrug. "But it can't be that hard, yeah?"

"Yes, it can be that hard."

"Sounds like you have some past experience then?"

"Well, yes, but that is why I am telling you that this is most definitely a bad idea. End of discussion. I am going to go make us some lunch."

To say that Classic was taken aback by Razz's sudden harshness and departure would have been an understatement. He was still for a moment, processing it all before he got to his feet and went to the kitchen where he found Razz shuffling through the pantry and refrigerator.

"You know I'm going to ask why you're acting like this," Classic said, leaning against the doorway.

Razz's sigh was more like a growl. The two of them had made a surprising couple, it would seem they were polar opposites, but they turned out to be very good for each other. They balanced each other out, neither had any issues calling out the other on their crap, and they both could take the bluntness the other provided. At times they still drove each other a little crazy, but many would argue that would be the same for any couple.

"Yeah, I know," Razz answered after a moment or two. He finished setting the glass pan of frozen lasagna into the oven and turned it on before facing Classic with his arms crossed.

"Talk to me, sweetheart," Classic said gently.

"All right, all right," Razz threw his hands up before crossing his arms again. "Look, I, yeah, I have had dogs before. It, uh, it never went particularly well."

"What happened?"

"They were lost in a few different ways, a couple were really unpleasant," Razz sighed. "Including as a way to intimidate my brother and me."

"Oh, honey."

Classic went over to Razz and pulled him into a hug. Razz wasn't one to cry, but Classic could tell that he was very upset, which was a task in and of itself considering the stone cold stoicism that he usually showed.

"You're not there anymore, we're not in the Underground, things are different here, we don't have to answer to anyone, hell, we don't even have to answer to our own brothers!" Classic pulled away, holding Razz gently by the shoulders, his thumbs rubbing circles into the bone in a way that he knew soothed his partner. "I know it's not the easiest thing in the world, and especially after losing your dogs before, I get it, I do. I just really do think it'll be good for us, and we get to help a poor pup in need of a good home."

Razz was looking less upset, but he was still not too sure.

"It'll get me out of the house on those walks you keep trying to get me to take."

"What brought this on, really?" Razz asked.

"Ah, Paps had me watch this show on the T.V. that was about this animal police-type group. You know how we kinda know humans are a little sick? I won't go into too many details or anything, but some animals aren't treated too nicely, but they help get them away from the bad owners, and they get adopted by nice families, and, well, and don't hit me for this, but it reminded me a little on how we helped each other, you know?"

"I'm not sure I completely follow you, but I'll just take your word for it," Razz sighed.

"So, come on, what do you say? We'll go down to the shelter and just look?"

"All right, we'll at least go look."

Classic grinned widely and kissed his cheek. Razz smiled a little, and hoped that he wasn't going to regret giving in to this.

*****

The shelter was mostly empty that afternoon, which was good news for the two skeletons, as they were still a little wary around humans. They were wandering the kennels where the dogs were kept, they saw a couple of dogs that seemed nice enough and Classic went to find someone to aid them. Razz continued walking through the aisles of kennels, and when he turned the corner, a wall of white fluff overtook his vision. He stopped in his tracks and took a step back. It wasn't another aisle, but just one kennel that was down this side, and Razz got the feeling that normally it wouldn't be occupied. This particular kennel was a good deal larger than the others, and for a very good reason.

Before him was a behemoth of a dog. It stood face to face with him. Amber eyes looked at him curiously from under a mop of fluffy white fur, it's tail wagged a little, gently sweeping the concrete floor.

"Hello, friend," Razz murmured. "I wonder how long you have been here."

He leaned over a little to look at the thin dog bed, and saw that it was fairly well covered with white fur, it was hard to see the olive green fabric underneath. The dog wore a simple brown collar, no tags that Razz could see, and he was a little surprised that there was nothing on the door of the kennel to say anything about the dog. He went to peek at the other doors of the other kennels, but as he moved away, the dog began to whimper.

"Oh, oh no, shh, shh," Razz said soothingly. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Razz?" Classic called.

"Over here," Razz said, waving a hand around the corner.

A moment later, Classic rounded the corner with a young man who worked for the shelter.

"What are you doing all the way down here?" Classic asked.

"Well, I came across this one, and, well," Razz started to stumble a little over his words, but then he caught himself, cleared his throat, and folded his hands behind his back. "I would like to know more about this dog, please."

"Oh, uhm," the young man flipped through his clipboard. "This one is still under evaluation."

"Evaluation? Is he sick?" Classic asked, glancing over to the dog with a sympathetic look.

"No, behavior evaluation, we keep ill animals in a separate kennel."

"What sort of behavior is he exhibiting?" Razz asked.

"She is showing mostly fear. We don't know her background past that she was dumped on our front steps in a taped up box, no air holes, slightly emaciated and with a few wounds that we suspect were from another dog. We don't think it was a dog fighting ring, possibly she wandered into someone's backyard who had a more aggressive dog, and, well, I guess the rest is really hard to say."

"I don't blame her for being scared, then," Razz said with a slight sniff of indignation.

"We don't either," the young man gave them both a sincere smile. "She has been with us for two months, and while she hasn't lashed out aggressively because of her fear, we can't be sure that she never will."

"What will happen to her if she doesn't seem to get over her fear?" Classic asked.

"She, unfortunately, might have to be humanely euthanized."

"No," Razz's voice was firm and his eyes narrowed. "I will not allow that to happen. We shall be taking her."

"But, sir," the man started to protest.

"She does not fear me," Razz said, going closer to the kennel.

The dog wagged her tail as Razz approached, still looking uncertain, but seeming much happier that he was close and pressed her nose again the fencing.

"Huh, usually she retreats to the corner," the man murmured.

"Razz has a way with pups," Classic said with a fond smile.

"May we see her out of the cage, please?" Razz asked, his voice still a little clipped though polite.

"Uh, sure, let me just grab a leash and the key."

Once the young man was out of earshot, Classic moved closer to Razz, who had put his hand against the fencing and the dog was gently starting to lick at his palm.

"She is very frightened," Razz murmured. "But not of us. She's a little wary, but she wants to trust us. I'm sure she wants to trust the humans, too, but she has, thus far, been cruelly treated by them."

"Yeah, it's not the animal, it's the owner," Classic said, rubbing Razz's back affectionately. "I'm guessing you want her?"

"Don't you?"

"She is very cute, very fluffy."

"Yes."

It didn't take long for the three of them to be brought to a fairly large room. The dog's tail was firmly between her leg from the moment the kennel was opened, and finally when she was unhooked from the leash and she put some distance between the man and herself did it start to come out again.

"Observe her with us, I think you will find that she does prefer our company," Razz said a bit primly as he began to walk towards the dog.

"Forgive him, he's a little cranky today," Classic murmured to the man. 

"He cares, I can tell," he replied with a smile. "That's the important part. Oh, will you look at that!"

During even just the few seconds that Classic and the man were speaking, Razz had the dog wagging her tail enthusiastically and she was waiting for his commands. He brought her through some basics - sit, lie down, paw - and while "sit" seemed to be the only thing she really knew, she only moved when Razz went to pick up a toy for her.

Classic watched with pride as Razz showed them that the dog was more scared of humans than him, tossing a ball, jogging along with the dog as it played, taking another toy to try to play tug of war, but the dog easily dragged him.

"I think I have seen enough," the man said. "This is amazing, I have never seen her open up like that. If you two wouldn't mind waiting, let me go speak to a few people and see if we can release this dog to you, if you are insistent on having her."

"I would rather not leave without her," Razz said, petting her head and straightening himself.

"He's the boss," Classic said with a shrug.

"Great. Please wait here."

"Sweetie, come over here," Razz said when they were alone.

"Yes, sir," Classic said, shuffling over to where Razz was, getting the dog to lie down and rubbing her belly. Classic crouched down and reached over to touch her. "She is really sweet, such a good dog."

"She must be a puppy," Razz said.

"Oh yeah? How do you figure?"

"I don't know, something about her tells me she's very young. Do you like her?"

"Yeah, she's cool. You sure we're good to get her? Should we be worried about the same thing the guy was worried about?"

"Humans are idiots," Razz growled. "I know they mean well, but putting down a dog just because it's scared? They won't spend the time with her to heal her? It's wrong."

"Well, I've seen it happen on that animal cop show, sometimes scared dogs will be violent, and shelters are packed, and there's just not enough people sometimes to help out," Sans sighed, sitting on the floor and crossing his legs. The dog turned and lay her head in his lap and he scratched behind her floppy ears. "But hopefully they'll let us take her, because I like her a lot."

"They will," Razz said, reaching over for Classic's hand.

Classic squeezed it back.

A little while later, they were sitting in an office with the volunteer and his boss, a middle-aged woman with a tired but kind face.

"I hope that you two understand our concerns," she said. "It is for your safety as well as the community's that we are careful with the dogs we let people adopt."

"I don't see why it should matter," Razz said, crossing his legs and folding his arms as he leveled a stern look at the woman. "I will personally take responsibility for the animal. Obviously, humans are what made her the way she is, I cannot expect humans to fix it."

"Razz," Classic murmured, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"I do understand your feelings, not only on the level of an animal lover, but because I understand the tentative relationships between humans and monsters right now," the woman said softly, smiling. "I very much feel the same way sometimes, that is why I am the manager of this shelter. I don't like making the decision to put animals down, I hate it. I absolutely hate it, and would do anything I could to prevent-"

Razz's expression softened as the woman's eyes began to shine with tears and her voice faltered to a stop. He knew she was being sincere; he had spent enough time studying expressions and telling if someone was being deceptive. The emotional outburst was very brief, the woman took a breath and her eyes cleared, showing that while she was sympathetic, she also needed to take care of business.

"I understand," Razz murmured, briefly recalling that he had to make such a decision about his own dog in the past.

"My worker has told me what he observed when you and Snowy played, so I propose the following: dogs like her do well recovering with fostering, and we haven't been able to place her in fostering because there has been no one available. If you both are willing to endure some paperwork, we will release her to you for fostering. Bring her back in three months for an evaluation, and if she is deemed adoptable, she is yours."

Razz looked to Classic, who smiled and nodded.

"Where do we sign?"

~~~

"Wowie, she is, uhm, big," Papyrus said slowly, watching the dog a little warily as she ran across the dog park after a ball Razz threw.

"Don't worry, Pap, she's well-trained," Classic assured him.

"Indeed, an intelligent dog like her can discern the difference between our bones and the bones she is allowed to have," Razz said. "Unlike that mangy canine that used to torment you on a daily basis back in the Underground."

"And is my brother being useful when it comes to her care?" Papyrus asked, giving Sans a sideways look.

"He has been performing adequately," Razz said with a chuckle.

"Babe, you're supposed to be on my side," Classic said, grabbing Razz around the waist and pulling him close.

"What did you name her?" Papyrus asked.

"We decided on Clio," Classic said.

"Clio?"

"The goddess of history," Razz explained. "Since that is what I am studying, I felt it was appropriate."

"And it was easy enough for me to pronounce," Classic added.

Razz rolled his eyes and made a dismissive wave. Their dog bounded back to them with the ball in her mouth and she dropped it, wagging her tail, and panting happily.

"She is bigger than I thought," Papyrus said with widened eyes, noting that the dog was standing at Razz's height. "How old is she?"

"Well, she was about five months old when we picked her up," Razz said, bending to get the ball to throw it again.

"And is she supposed to be getting any bigger?"

"I think so," Classic said. "Not sure what breeds she's made from, but the vet said she still has some ways to _grow_."

Papyrus groaned and rolled his eyes, Razz sighed and shoved Classic away.

"You're both smiling," Classic chuckled.

"I am and I hate it," they both replied.

Later that evening, the temperature dropped, so Classic built a fire in the fireplace. Clio lay before it, Razz leaned against her with his textbook, and Classic joined them with a bone for the pup and hot chocolate for them.

"How're you doin' babe?" Classic asked as he sat down after dropping a kiss on the top of Razz's head.

"I'm okay," Razz sighed, setting the book aside. "This textbook is really boring."

They sipped at their hot chocolate and watching the fire for a bit, Razz reaching back to pet Clio now and then.

"So, are you okay with having the pup?" Classic asked.

"Yeah," Razz smiled.

"You know we're going to take really good care of her."

"I know."

"And we'll have her for a very long time."

"I hope so."

"We will," Classic pulled Razz in for a hug, then kissed him, then rolled him over and pinned him to the floor, raining kisses all over his face.

"No, stop!" Razz giggled, as the light kisses were tickling him.

Clio got up and barked happily, prancing around them both. Classic let up after a moment and they both turned their attention on Clio, letting her know she was very loved, and they would have a very happy home together.

**Author's Note:**

> Like what you read? Please check out my social media for more fun!  
> [ My Tumblr](https://soloshikigami.tumblr.com/)  
> [ My Twitter](https://twitter.com/SoloShikigami)


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